The Kingfishers (0.5 - 3.5) come to town in a bad mood after a bad start to this season. And the Blitz (2 - 2) are steaming from last weeks thrashing at the hands of undefeated Miami. So, what do you get when two angry teams meet... some colorful fireworks! for sure... you see, when Kingfishers are mad... they turn a shade of orange-ish yellow (maybe one of our artist fans can tell me what color I posted for them)... and the Blitz, of course, are angry red for every match... I suspect some shade of red-ish, orange-ish sprinkled with sparkly sequins... but that's just a guess.

Anyway, the good news is the Blitz are in the race in the Northeast Division... but, with the Nor'easters (3.5 - 0.5) threatening to run away from the pack, we just can't afford to lose this match. Thus, to carry on with my long tradition of accurate and unbiased predictions... the Blitz will win (3.0 - 1.0) in a blaze of puce and amaranth Purple Glory. But, how?... Glad you asked...

Esserman vs Bregadze

We can't go through a whole season without a Morra gambit. Marc will play 1.e4... and his opponent, noticing his mistake, will take the pawn with 1...c5 (see Marc's fabulous book Mayhem in the Morra), and hold on for dear life as the clouds turn dark and the lightning crashes and, eventually, the sparkly little things fall from the sky... shedding dim light over the devastation... and a fallen Black Monarch... How's that for scientific analysis... Boston (1 - 0)

Shmelov vs Enkhbat

Denys seems to have had his share of Blacks this season and this will make his 4th in 5 outings. That can put you in a blue funk... but, Denys is not one to dwell on the past... or the future, for that matter. After 1.d4... he will answer with a slav... of some sort... no telling really... and we're off, down the blue danube, to the blue bayou. Now, I know Denys is due for a win... but, I think he will still be playing when it's time to take a draw and end the match. So, Boston(1.5 - 0.5)

Martirosov vs Kaufman

Ok, if you don't know it by now... I confess that Vadim is my favorite Blitz player... Probably, because he is the team's endgame guru... and because I can never understand his games until he explains them to me. But, GM Kaufman is my all time favorite player/teacher of chess... probably because he is closer to my age... and because I just love his books. So, I am torn here... 1.d4... will be met with 1...d5, and a grind it out color-me-neutral draw. Boston (2 - 1)

Zheng vs Krasik

I don't know much about NM Zheng... but, that has never stopped me from predicting a game... 1.e4... with a fighting Sicilian?... sounds good to me. This is my crucial game of the match... color-me-clueless, putting my money on Ilya, Boston (3 - 1)

All Blitz matches are, if nothing else, colorful... you really need to be there to see this. I go to most if not all of them and I am never bored. Of course, that may say more about me, than about the matches. Yet, I have a feeling about this one. It is certainly critical to both teams... ergo... I expect nothing less than full steam ahead collision of two old rivals... they don't call this the Black-and-Blue division for nothing! (they being me)... So, come on down... and show your true Blitz colors...

Weds, 7:30pm, 59 Shepard st., Cambridge, MA

And please leave the name of your color in the comments... there are so many red-green-blue combinations... GO BLITZ!

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